“The older you get, you get more experience and your heading technique gets better,” said Mason, now a youth coach at Spurs.

“Maybe bring in sponge balls to learn the technique and gain that experience of actually challenging for a header.

“I don’t think repetitive heading at a young age is doing the kids any good, that’s for sure.

“America is probably more advanced than England in terms of research, and they’ve taken the measure of actually banning it up to a certain age. So maybe we can follow those footsteps over here to protect our young kids.”

Mason was forced to retire after suffering a fractured skull in an aerial challenge with Gary Cahill during a Premier League game in January 2017

Players ‘need more protection’

Mason is also urging football authorities need to do more to protect players from the effects of concussion.

“For me it’s pretty simple to diagnose concussion on a football pitch,” he said. “If there’s any doubt about it, then in my eyes, they should take the player off the pitch.

“Ultimately the specialists that I’ve seen and spoken to, if you do get a whack on the head and there’s a small sort of concussion, and then you go and get another whack on the head within minutes, then that’s when the damage can be done.

“And I think that’s where we can potentially protect the players a lot more.”

The Football Association says it is “committed to researching and examining all areas” of head injuries in the game, including the long-term effects on players.

Ryan Mason won one cap for England in a friendly against Italy in March 2015